Mumbai, July 11 :     Zee Telefilms (ZTL) has indicated that it may have to bring about a reduction in advertisement rates for non prime-time slots due to the intense competition from rival TV channels, and the threat posed by new ones. Senior executives of the company, addressing a congregation of analysts here today, said growth in future earnings will be driven largely by subscription revenues from pay channels and from charges levied on accessing the Net. The entertainment major is of the view that revenues from prime-time advertising would continue to show good growth rates, and the planned increase in channels will help the surge. The company has, on several occasions in the past, said earnings from subscription would replace the money raised from advertisements - which presently form a significant chunk - as the dominant source of revenues in the years to come. In the first quarter of the current financial year, Zee Network's advertisement income jumped 35 per cent at Rs 159.13 crore. However, sources say the figure is not representative of the entire financial year because first-quarter numbers are usually lower than those recorded at other times. 'It has been generally observed that of the total subscriptions for a year, 20 per cent comes during the first quarter, 22 per cent comes from the second quarter, 30 per cent from the third and 28 per cent from the fourth,' sources said. Zee Telefilms now beams 10 channels, but it has drawn up plans to increase it to 18 next year; Zee Sports and Zee Education are expected to be the major additions in the works. According to company officials, annual revenues from the Alpha group of regional language channels is likely to be over Rs 15 crore because these have a large subscriber base. The 1.5-million strong subscriber base for every Alpha channel has even surpassed Zee's own estimates of 1.2 million. On the basis of revenues of Rs 2 per subscriber, the Alpha group is expected to give Zee Rs 1.2 crore every month. Zee's hybrid fibre co-axial (HFC) network, a high-stakes plan to offer broadband internet services through the country, will be implemented by subsidiary of Siticable. It will cost around Rs 2,500 crore, and the investment will be spread over the next three years. To start with, Rs 700 crore will be invested in 2001, Rs 1560 crore in 2002 and Rs 218.5 crore in 2003. Company officials did not specify the mode of financing, but analysts are of the opinion that the money will be raised by divesting shares of Siticable, which has been valued at a whopping $ 3.5 billion. Zee has launched its Internet service in Bangalore, providing web access through both cables and the dial-up mode. Sources said while it charges Rs 1500 per month with an initial deposit of Rs 10,000 for uninterrupted internet access through cable lines, the dial-up charges for three months are Rs 699. Notwithstanding the aggressive plans, analysts say the key to Zee's growth will lie in the way these are implemented. 'However, their aggressive effort in accumulating subscription revenues through TV channels would put them in a good shape and the conversion to pay channels would help generate substantial revenue,' Aman Budhwar, senior analyst at Khandwala Securities, said.